


In Every Way

by missyvortexdv (Purpleyin), Purpleyin



Category: 4400
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-30
Updated: 2009-11-30
Packaged: 2017-10-04 00:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpleyin/pseuds/missyvortexdv, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpleyin/pseuds/Purpleyin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten Marco/Diana drabbles based around the five senses. Half from Diana's POV, half from Marco's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lush

**Author's Note:**

> Betaread by Fanwoman.
> 
> Spoilers: All of Season 2 for the whole story.

**Diana POV**

Lush (Sight)

Marco is always easily seen. Each and every outfit tends to be visually striking, always there at the forefront when she's around, and its probably designed that way - she can't help but notice him.

What she notices is entirely different from what she's meant to, what he's been enticing her with. For all his crazy shirts and funky combinations, she finds her eyes drawn to his mouth, the way his lips curl, how he pronounces words. It's the little things that catch her attention when she should know better than to be distracted, even for an instant. The smiles and smirks she draws out of him are appreciated, too, a clear benefit of taunting him in their common banter. She teases him with words, but he teases her with his lips.


	2. Drive

**2nd Diana POV**

Drive (Touch) 

He never touches her unless she shows him somehow that he can or that it's needed. A skim of her shoulder to reassure, the hug in the parking lot as comfort, he never takes risks with it. It's always purposeful. Sometimes, she wishes he would reach out and make a connection, but she knows why he doesn't. He's afraid of inappropriateness, of driving her away. She knows what's really happening is she's slowly driving him away, unless she touches him, grounds them together, reaffirms that she doesn't want him to go away, unlike the impression her words often convey He knows better than to think she honestly wants him gone, but neither does he come closer without reason.

She simply isn't used to such reticence, and she's clearly not the only one who has issues with intimacy. One day, she'll find out why he's so careful, who made him so hesitant that he can't yet break through the barrier that's between them. Once she does, she'll make sure he knows he doesn't have to be afraid. At some point, one of them is going to have to stop this - her resistance to moving forward, his hesitation to push any boundaries. She tells herself it's just temporary. When the time is right, she'll make the move he can't bring himself to chance.


	3. Hold

**3rd ** **Diana POV**

Hold (Sound) 

He's usually clear about what he means when he talks, and what worries her is when he isn't, when he hesitates – holding back, just as he does with touching her. The difference being she understands perfectly well why he won't risk invading her personal space, but she doesn't know why he doesn't say whatever he's thinking on those occasions. It isn't even that he doesn't say what he means, it's that he simply doesn't give her anything to go on apart from that lack of words, the gap in his natural flow of conversation. It's rare, but whenever it happens, she's unnerved, perhaps because anything that can change his usual friendly banter into an abrupt awkward silence leaves her scared. What is it that panics him, her always calm Marco? What sets his stomach ill at ease, causes him to worry so? She has an inkling, but she doesn't really want to know if it's true, doesn't entirely want it to be. She doesn't like the thought of it, of it being so serious for him. Instead, she concentrates on listening to his pleasant voice and hopes it doesn't happen again too soon.


	4. Gain

**4th out of 5 Diana POV**

Gain (Smell)

In the morning he smells of shampoo and coffee. The rich aroma of the dark brew tends to induce a reminder of the guilty pleasures of standing too close to him, even if he's not around. She drinks more coffee than she used to because of him.

By lunch, he seems to take on the scent of the copier most days, and it's reminiscent of the first time she sought him out for advice, coming down when the room was bound to be mostly empty and pulling him to one side for a word. It was also possibly the first time she'd really touched him. He'd blushed, and she'd found it rather unlike the Marco she was used to, but terribly endearing, too. She found more and more excuses to see him after that.

Each smell has a memory attached, an emotion that swells as she breathes it in deep, that tells her something about herself. He's taught her a lot of things she'd never have considered, the use of rosemary being just one of them – but it's the strongest one, the most evocative smell of all those that make her think of him. At dinner, she thinks of rosemary and the other herbs he adds to his cooking. Although he's rarely eaten with them, every time she adds in rosemary to a recipe, she feels like he's there. Sometimes, Maia makes a comment and smiles knowingly into her plate because it's Marco's rosemary, and, quite rightly, she deduces that means _something_. Diana would like to know what it means, too, but she's still figuring it out. That's one thing Marco can't teach her; she has to learn for herself. She's been alone for a long time, so she's a bit rusty. But the rosemary definitely helps her remember what it is to have someone care.


	5. Entrée

**Last of the 5 Diana POV's**

Entrée (Taste )

She'd never have suspected he's such a good cook until she'd tasted the breakfast he'd whipped up one morning. He'd been babysitting Maia, and she'd arrived home from her assignment so late the coffee had already started brewing by the time she'd walked in the door. She'd been too tired and hungry to protest his offer and hadn't regretted a bite of it. He cooks the most wonderful eggs and stirs up great French toast, too. She often wonders how he does at desserts, but then, she's never really had him round long enough at the right time for him to make anything like that. One day, she's sure she will find out. He's always looking for excuses to come over, to spend any amount of time with her. He'd probably jump at the chance, and that's where she feels slightly guilty, because she knows he's entirely at her mercy in that department. Still, she isn't just curious about his dessert making skills; she's sure he has many hidden talents other than cooking. She'll savour unfolding the mystery, each discovery a little taste of who exactly is Marco Pacella.


	6. Visionary

**And now** ** the Marco POV's**

Visionary (Sight)

He loves to watch her. Stationary, moving, he doesn't care which; she's full of grace, a vision of beauty. He barely cares what she's wearing; she always looks hot to him. Once, Tom caught him staring at her putting on her coat – on the one occasion the guy said, or tried to say, thank you to him. He's a little more careful about it, now. He watches, but he tries not to ogle in any respect of the word. He admires her but, thankfully, no longer from afar.

Sometimes, she catches him, but she doesn't say anything. In fact, she often smiles at him. She knows he watches her but doesn't seem to mind. He gets the occasional wink, and it even tends to inspire her to talk to him, taunt him about his crush a little. She likes to treat it like one, anyway. He's not sure why, but she doesn't seem to want to consider it anything more – but she knows it is; she can't not know. For now, he'll let her feign ignorance if that's what she wants.

He won't be dissuaded because she ignores his attempts to make their relationship more concrete. However much she wants to play this game, he knows the chemistry is there. She knows it, too, just like she knows he looks to her and doesn't tell him to not do so. She lets him pretend there's an opportunity just out of reach, that he can sway her even though he knows she'll only do exactly what she wants to, and he lets her pretend it isn't that serious. It's a question of who wins in the end, but he has the feeling that, ultimately, it will be both of them. He hopes so; he doesn't want to face the possibility of not seeing her.


	7. Static

**2nd Marco POV**

Static (Touch) 

He loves it when she reaches out to him, but he's wary of it. Every slight touch feels electric to him, making him crave more contact. It's good it only happens every now and then. He's better off because he's not quite so distracted by her if there's a little distance, and that way, he's still able to converse intelligently with her 99 percent of the time. But he still longs for and cherishes every touch, like steps along their way to something more than what they currently have. That's partly why he tests the limits of her personal space, having found out she doesn't seem much concerned by him getting right up close to her physically, unlike her reactions to any unexpected brushes of hands.

Him being near her isn't an issue, and that, in itself, thrills him. Any time Tom moves too close, he sees her casually move away until she's comfortable, but she never does that with him. He doesn't have to touch her to know he affects her; it's like there's something between them that can be felt without a connection. The possibility of a real connection sometimes scares him, of wanting something that badly, and as much as he likes to reach out to her, he tries not to do so unnecessarily. He's only willing to push their progress so far. The ball is in her court; Diana sets the pace.


	8. Break

**3rd Marco POV  
**

Break (Sound)

He loves the sound of her laughter, something that is an amazingly rare occurrence. She often makes little sounds to show her amusement, but an actual laugh out loud isn't part of her usual behaviour. He doesn't know if it's because she's restrained and professional at work or just hard to amuse. It makes his heart sing when he can be the cause of her laughter, and as rare as it is, it seems to happen much more when he's talking to her than when he's seen her with anyone else. Of course, that's not too surprising when he mainly sees her in a work environment. NTAC can be quite grim, and no one else there would bother trying to make her laugh.

The theory room is rather singular in it's casual atmosphere, and he likes to hope that's one of the reasons she comes back to him, dredging down to the basement because it's a break from the tough time upstairs. If he can encourage her to be more herself for even just a few minutes, then his job is done, but hearing her laughter is a special bonus. When it happens, he grins, knowing she's happy and relaxed because of something he's said or done. He probably looks goofy like that, but he doesn't care. Sometimes it makes her laugh harder in her confusion, and he can't wipe the grin from his face after that. He likes it even better when they're both laughing, both free and in the moment, sharing it.


	9. Subdue

**4th Marco POV**

Spoilers up to "The Fifth Page" and rather a dark topic - warning for character death mentioned.

Subdue (Smell)

The NTAC parking garage makes him think of Diana. It's a subtle, yet complex smell dominated by damp, like a cavern, no doubt due to muddy shoes and tires caused by Seattle's regular rain. Yet beneath the earthiness lay the acrid undertones of automobile oil and other technological odors, an intricate combination of natural and artificial.

And why does he have this strange association? He used to walk her to her car at the end of the day, when it was time to go home, but they would linger, discussing the latest thoughts on their current theory. But that isn't why. She used to take him there for private chats, like when she was worried about Maia's prediction that someone would get hurt. They spent quite some time going over that prediction, mostly Diana worrying, though he'd tried to comfort her. Their hug features prominently in that memory, but again, that's not why.

The parking garage is where Max Hudson died, where he'd found him with his brains splattered across the driver's side window. Brady had been right behind him. They'd both heard the gunshot from the theory room, but neither had realized what it might mean. Brady had almost immediately turned away and run off to retch in the corner, leaving Marco standing there mute for a few minutes until he'd regained his wits and called security to deal with the situation. He'd felt guilty that the guy had died, because he'd wanted the good looking doctor as far away from Diana as possible, and now, in a way, he was. But Max couldn't help Maia and the others if he was dead.

When he walks into the parking garage, it's hard not to remember the sick feeling in his stomach that the smell brings back. He tries to remind himself of how everything turned out fine…for everyone else. It doesn't work so well until he thinks of Diana, of how he comforted her here. He imagines her being there for him, comforting him from this - a favour returned, of a warm embrace to prove life and happiness rather than the memories of death and terror. He imagines her wonderful mixture of scents - the coffee on her breath, the zesty shampoo in her hair and the flowery fabric softener in her clothes - overpowering everything that lurks in the damp. He can't forget yet, if he ever will, but he can make it go away if he concentrates. She's the only one whose presence is powerful enough to drive off the darkness by merely evoking the thought of her.


	10. Dessert

**Last one!  
**

**Spoilers up to "Mommy's Bosses" since it's set after that.  
**

Dessert (Taste)

The first time, he'd been surprised. She'd sort of tasted like pasta sauce… not very good pasta sauce, either. He really hadn't cared one bit what she'd tasted like, though. Besides, it'd been over fairly quickly; he'd barely been able to tell. This morning, she tastes of coffee, and again, he hardly cares about that kind of detail. He's fixated on Diana, waiting for her response. It's only the second time they've kissed, and this time, she's the one who's surprised. He's trying to work out what she's thinking, because she backed off a little after his rather brief peck on the lips. It was enough to tell she tastes sweet, like the coffee she's just finished. She's probably thinking that it's inappropriate; they're at NTAC, after all. But in his defence, they're both stuck in an elevator at NTAC. Trapped. Alone. He has a brief flash of thought that she must have reached the same realization, but he doesn't do much thinking after that because they're alone and she's kissing him. She definitely tastes of coffee, very good coffee. It's a bonus, sure, but that's not what he's concentrating on – at times like this, it will always be her and only her.


End file.
